How can I work out how hard a route will be?
- Thread starter onlyhuman
- Start date
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mr Mag00
rising member
- Location
- Deepest Dorset
there is an elevation tool
jamesxyz
New Member
- Location
- Huddersfield, West Yorks
the bigger the spikes the steeper the hill!!
however, this can be misleading - the elevation is an average gradiant over a certain distance i.e. a mile. On mapmyride the elevation tool is always the same width on the screen therefore if you plot a longer ride the gradiants won't seem so steep as the average out over the whole distance - a short ride will seem more 'hilly' but might not necessarily be. For example I plotted the Ryedale RUmble 2 (70 odd miles) I knew the steepest bit for this would be Blakey Bank. the section on the mapmyride elevation which included this hill showed an average gradiant of about 10% or so but if you just plotted the route from the bottom of the hill to the top and missed out the rest of the ride the actual average gradiant for the hill is something like 18% !!
Hope this makes sense.
however, this can be misleading - the elevation is an average gradiant over a certain distance i.e. a mile. On mapmyride the elevation tool is always the same width on the screen therefore if you plot a longer ride the gradiants won't seem so steep as the average out over the whole distance - a short ride will seem more 'hilly' but might not necessarily be. For example I plotted the Ryedale RUmble 2 (70 odd miles) I knew the steepest bit for this would be Blakey Bank. the section on the mapmyride elevation which included this hill showed an average gradiant of about 10% or so but if you just plotted the route from the bottom of the hill to the top and missed out the rest of the ride the actual average gradiant for the hill is something like 18% !!
Hope this makes sense.
MGBLemonrider
Active Member
- Location
- Stevenage, Herts
I'm new to this lark and have been using mapmyride, and noticed this short coming.
However through a topic elsewhere on this forum there's http://bikehike.co.uk
which produces a more detailed elevation
However through a topic elsewhere on this forum there's http://bikehike.co.uk
which produces a more detailed elevation
MGBLemonrider said:
welcome to the forum MGB thats a very good suggestion.
Bikehike have an excellent elevation profile. Just select 'course creater' and tick the box 'show elevation data' and then draw your route. Double click to end the route then wherever you click on the profile it will show you where that part of the hill is on the main map section
simplesps are you a fellow MGB enthusiast perchance ? restored lots over the years, still got lots of books and parts left over
MGBLemonrider
Active Member
- Location
- Stevenage, Herts
peanut said:welcome to the forum MGB thats a very good suggestion.
ps are you a fellow MGB enthusiast perchance ? restored lots over the years, still got lots of books and parts left over
Thank you....Yes but that's not it.
MGB are my initials and the Lemon refers to my motorcycle a Motor Guzzi V11 Lemans. Affectionately known as lemons, just because they're temperamental Italians doesn't necessarily make them bad.
Leadlegs
New Member
onlyhuman,
I’ve mapped out routes on mapmyride.com and found it to be a useful toy, but it has its limitations. When it comes to measuring gradients I think that the resolution isn’t fine enough to be fully accurate, that is also reflected in the total ascent calc which seems to always be on the low side.
Other than that I like it.
I have a rule of thumb for working out how hard a ride is going to be. I simply divide the height climbed in metres by the distance travelled in kilometres. This gives me an index number that is an indication of how intense the route is. All I then have to decide is if I think that I can manage the distance.
Over a period of time I’ve also noticed that (unsurprisingly) my average speed for a route trends along with the intensity, but in the opposite direction – the more intense, the less speed.
I’ve mapped out routes on mapmyride.com and found it to be a useful toy, but it has its limitations. When it comes to measuring gradients I think that the resolution isn’t fine enough to be fully accurate, that is also reflected in the total ascent calc which seems to always be on the low side.
Other than that I like it.
I have a rule of thumb for working out how hard a ride is going to be. I simply divide the height climbed in metres by the distance travelled in kilometres. This gives me an index number that is an indication of how intense the route is. All I then have to decide is if I think that I can manage the distance.
Over a period of time I’ve also noticed that (unsurprisingly) my average speed for a route trends along with the intensity, but in the opposite direction – the more intense, the less speed.
haggard rider
New Member
I still use "proper" maps - it's easy to tell tough by how close the contour lines are and the proliferation of chevrons.
Or look here for OS maps to any scale you want:-
http://www.maptasm.com/
This is the best site that I have come across for OS maps apart from buying them
http://www.maptasm.com/
This is the best site that I have come across for OS maps apart from buying them
